Cops look to quiz man who may have followed boy

November 13, 2009

Tinley Park police said today they would like to question a man who may have used a white work van to follow a young bicyclist in a residential subdivision near the intersection of 167th Street and Oak Park Avenue on Thursday.

Cmdr. Rick Bruno said today that an 11- to 13-year-old boy told police he was bicycling near the intersection of Hubbard Lane and Riverside Drive around 6 p.m. when he noticed the van behind him.

The van passed, stopped, started up, and passed again before disappearing near the intersection of 167th and Ridgeland Avenue.

The pre-teen said there was no attempt to lure him into the van, and that he had no physical contact with the man, who was described as white, in his 20s and wearing a white baseball cap with a red brim.

The boy said the van had white painted squares, resembling windows, on the side and rear doors of the van. He said the side "windows" had rust along the bottom.

Bruno, in a statement, deemed the white van a "suspicious vehicle" and asked anyone with information to call Tinley Park police at (708) 444-5300.